Limited access to reliable charging remains one of Canada’s biggest barriers to electric-vehicle (EV) adoption. Consumers hesitate to buy EVs without dependable charging, while investors hesitate to build charging stations until demand is proven — a classic chicken-and-egg dilemma in emerging infrastructure markets.
A new Ivey case, The Canada Infrastructure Bank: Charging Ahead, developed by Candice Chow (HBA ‘25), Gal Raz, Romel Mostafa, and Scott Loveland, explores how the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) is helping break this stalemate. By using blended financing and risk-sharing tools, the CIB de-risks early projects, mobilizes private capital, and accelerates the rollout of EV charging and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure across the country. The case highlights how public institutions can shape market activity, balance commercial realities with national climate goals, and pave the way for large-scale adoption.
For instructors and practitioners, the case provides a timely teaching tool at the intersection of finance, sustainability, and public policy, and a window into the institutional innovation driving Canada’s clean-transportation transition.
Generous support from the Lawrence Family, Baran Family Foundation, Ivey's Critical Issues Challenge Fund, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) 2024 Insight Grant, and Power Corporation of Canada is gratefully acknowledged.